Zaleplon

Zaleplon is a nonbenzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic which acts as a selective agonist at the benzodiazepine omega(1) (type 1) receptor. I n comparison with placebo, zaleplon 10mg taken at bedtime has been shown to significantly reduce sleep latency in both polysomnographic and subjective assessments. Zaleplon 5 and 10mg significantly reduced median time to sleep onset compar ed with placebo after the first and second weeks of a randomised double-bli nd study in 422 elderly patients with insomnia. Similarly, zaleplon 10 and 20mg significantly reduced subjective sleep latency from that with placebo throughout a 4-week trial in 574 patients with insomnia. There was no evidence of next-day psychomotor impairment with zaleplon 10mg . In contrast, significant impairments were seen with flurazepam 30mg, zolp idem 20mg, triazolam 0.25mg and zopiclone 7.5mg in some comparative trials. The tolerability profile of zaleplon was similar to that of placebo in clin ical trials, and use of zaleplon was not associated with rebound insomnia o r other withdrawal effects.